J-16s vs Rafales: China Air Force War Game Test
- China's state broadcaster, CCTV, recently released footage of a People's Liberation Army (PLA) war gaming exercise, showcasing a simulated air combat scenario between Chinese J-16 fighters and French...
- According to the CCTV report, 2023 is the first year the entire PLA and People's Armed Police Force have been actively promoting pilot war-gaming exercises at a large...
- Footage from the exercise depicted two PLA Air force officers analyzing a board simulating an air combat situation.
PLA Conducts War Gaming Exercise Simulating Encounter with French Rafale Fighters
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Rare glimpse into Chinese Military Exercises
China’s state broadcaster, CCTV, recently released footage of a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) war gaming exercise, showcasing a simulated air combat scenario between Chinese J-16 fighters and French Rafale multi-role fighters. This marks a rare public display of PLA war games, which are typically highly classified. the report was published on Friday,December 22,2023.
Large-Scale War Gaming Initiative
According to the CCTV report, 2023 is the first year the entire PLA and People’s Armed Police Force have been actively promoting pilot war-gaming exercises at a large scale. The exercises took place in Xuchang, Henan province, with participation from 20 units across the military and its academies. Additional war games were also conducted by army and submarine forces.
Simulated Air Combat Scenario
Footage from the exercise depicted two PLA Air force officers analyzing a board simulating an air combat situation. The ”task” force consisted of eight J-16 fighters, a 4.5-generation aircraft manufactured by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. The opposing “threat” force included six French-made Rafale fighters.
Rafale fighters are operated by several countries,including France,Egypt,and India,according to publicly available details.